In many industrial and semi-industrial situations, for example in large kitchens or in hotels, it is necessary to regularly fill small containers with a cleaning and sanitizing liquid from a constant supply or a bulk container of the liquid. Typically this is done by filling the small container from a manually operated tap. A disadvantage of this system is that care needs to be taken by the user to ensure that the container is filled to the correct level but not so much that the liquid overflows, creating a hazard in the working environment.
It is commonplace for supplies of different liquids to be provided at the same place. Where this happens, there is an obvious risk that the wrong liquid might be filled into the wrong container. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by color coding the sources of liquid and the containers but this does not entirely eliminate the possibility of human error.
The present invention, in its different aspects, is aimed at overcoming or ameliorating one or both, of the above-described problems.